Wwii italian campaign tour

WWII Italian Campaign Tour including Sicily -‐Wednesday,October19–Sunday,October30,2016

$4945.00perperson*($800.00singlesupplement) includes round trip air from JFK inter- country‐ air (Rome to Sicily)

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After victory in North Africa, and differing strategies among the Allies about their next objective, the Allied leaders, led by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, met in January 1943, to outline the long- range ‐ plan toward complete victory and unconditional surrender. The Casablanca Conference, regarded as the first war conference between the Allied powers, established a united objective summarized by Roosevelt’s proclamation .

“….that the only terms on which we shall deal with any Axis government of any Axis factions are the terms proclaimed at Casablanca: “Unconditional surrender.” In our uncompromising policy we mean no harm to the common people of the Axis nations, but we do mean to impose punishment and retribution in full upon their guilty, barbaric leaders.”

TheinvasionofItalywasimminent. Recommendedreadingbeforethetour… Rick Atkinson’s The Day of Battle.

DAY1:Weds.,Oct.19–DepartJFKInternationalAirport–4:15PM

DAY2:Thurs.,Oct.20-‐ArrivePalermo.(D)

Meet our local guide and board the motor- coach‐ with a short city tour of Palermo and lunch, on your own with assistance from our local guide. Travel east from Palermo to our first lodging destination… unwind, enjoy the locals or a gelato or robust espresso. Our welcome dinner is early, allowing you to turn in for a good night’s sleep. Overnight

Day3: Fri.,Oct.21–(B,L,D)-‐TheAmericanLandingBeaches- ‐ OperationHusky

Head south to the invasionbeaches, an expanse of 40 miles along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea from Licata to Scoglitti. The beaches were in American hands by the end of the first day of fighting on July 10, 1943.

Inland from the beach, visit the PonteDirilloBridge, site of action by 82nd Airborne paratroopers. This site, marked by the smallest of memorials, was an expansive flat river valley with a critical causeway fiercely defended by the Germans until the grit of the All- ‐ Americans’ proved too much for the combined Italian- German ‐armies to hold the hill. Overnight Scoglitti.

DAY4: Sat.,Oct.22–(B,L,D) -‐ThePortofCatania–BritishObjective

Drive up the east coast of Sicily, viewing the coastline where British 8th Army, under Field Marshall Montgomery, was tasked to liberate the ports up to Messina, at Sicily’s northeast tip. Stop in the ancient Greek town of Siracusafor a tour of the ruins, which were spared during bombing and fighting of WWII. Pay our respects at the Commonwealth War Cemetery.

Arrive for our overnight in Catania.

From the Casablanca Conference, the military maneuver“Operation Husky” was planned to invade Sicily, with the goal of pushing the German and Italian forces to surrender or retreat to the Italian mainland. Then, Allied forces would advance through Italy, securing airfields closer to Germany andthe Balkans and give the British Royal Navy control of the Mediterranean Sea. For six months following the conference, a force including 150,000 men, and 3,000 ships under the command of General Patton and Field Marshal Montgomery, was assembled for the July invasion of Sicily. An additional 4,000 aircraft provided air support. The island of Sicily, about the size of Massachusetts, was defended by an estimated 300,000 Italian and German troops.

The invasion marks the first test of DUKWs, specially designed amphibious troop transport.

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DAY5:

WWII Italian Campaign Tour including Sicily -‐Wednesday,October19–Sunday,October30,2016$4945.00perperson*($800.00singlesupplement) includes round trip air from JFK inter- country‐ air (Rome to Sicily)

Sun.,Oct.23–(B,D) MissionAccomplished–OntotheMainLand

Visit the HistoricalWarMuseumofthe1943LandingsinSicily. The museum offers an extensive exhibit of uniforms and weapons of each branch of service of Axis and Allied servicemen who fought in Sicily.

Head north to Messina for our ferry ride across the StraitofMessina.

Just a little more than a month after the July 10 invasion, on August 17, German Commander Kesselring, determined not to waste another Army in a futile fight, withdrew his forces of 40,000 Germans along with 60,000 Italians to the main land. By the time Patton captured Messina, the 7th Army had lost 7,000 men and the British 8th Army had suffered 9,000 casualties, but the Axis’ losses of 160,000 restored a fighting spirit in Patton’s troops after the US defeat at the Kasserine Pass in North Africa just 7 months earlier.

As you view the narrow StraitofMessina, you’ll question why the Allies had no plan to blockade the short three- mile‐ passage, or bomb the escaping German flotilla during the five day evacuation of Sicily which would have contained the Germans on Sicily. How many lives could have been spared? How much sooner would Kesselring have admitted defeat? Of this strategic blunder by the Allied command,Atkinson writes

“The B- 17’s ‐ never came. Allied commanders had had no coordinated plan for severing the Messina Strait when Husky began, nor did any such plan emerge as the campaign reached its climax. Inattention, even negligence, gave Kesselring something his legions never had in Tunisia: the chance for a clean getaway.” (p. 167)

Transfer to the coach. Travel north to Salerno. Overnight Salerno.

DAY6: Mon.,Oct.24–(B,) Salerno&OperationAvalanche-‐September1943

Visit the landing beaches, view the Gulf of Salerno, where underwater mines tormented the Navy armada. Stop at the 36thInfantryDivisionMonumentto learn about the fighting spirit of these hearty Texans.

DAY7:

A stop at Paestum, a settlement founded in 600 B.C., includes both a tour of these ancient ruins and the assessment of the WWII battles that raged around them. General Mark Clark set up his Command Post among the ruins, as doubts of his abilities as a field commander began to emerge.Dinner on your own – along the coastline. Overnight Salerno.

Tues.,Oct.25–(B,D) Pompeii,SanPietroInfine,MignanoPass…Hill424–ThreeMedalsofHonor

Begin with a morning visit to Pompeii.In 1641, the first recorded account of a volcanic eruption was made by a young naturalist who witnessed the eruption from 40 miles away. The 4,000 residents of Pompeii and smaller nearby villages died when a layer of ash ten feet deep blanketed the valley below the crater. In March, 1944, when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, while there were no casualties, the 12th Air Force lost about 75 aircraft, many medium bombers which were covered with hot ash, causing melted or cracked Plexiglass and burned fabric. A number of B- 25’s‐ were tipped onto their tails from the weight of the ash and tephra. The damage proved insurmountable in spite of efforts to rebuild, repurpose and repair, and reduced the effectiveness of bombing runs over southern Germany.

Leaving Pompeii, you’ll travel north to the Western front of the German defenses known as the GustavLine. Stops at MonteLungoand SanPietroInfineare planned on the way to Cassino. At Hill424, on top of a peak, the valley floor below and towering Apenines in the distance, hear of the valor of three soldiers, who each earned the Medal of Honor holding their ground.

Overnight Cassino.

DAY8: Weds.,Oct.26–(B)

Visit the Cassino War Museum and the British Commonwealth Cemetery. Headstones indicate service from men of many “colonies” – New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and more.






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DAY9:

Then, the coach climbs the hairpin turns to the mountain top and the AbbeyofMonteCassino.You’ll be hard pressed to tell that it has been destroyed and rebuilt four times. During WWII, the monastery became a refuge for civilians. On February 15, 1944, the monastery was bombed and completely destroyed, killing many civilians and destroying ancient manuscripts and artifacts…an act of war that continues to be debated as there is no concrete evidence that the Germans occupied the Abbey. Nearby, the PolishWarCemeterycommemorates the courage of over 1,000 Polish soldiers who died while storming the Abbey in May 1944. The headstones give a picture of soldiers, Catholic, Jewish and Orthodox, united in the fight against the Axis.Overnight Cassino.

Thurs.,Oct.27–(B,L,D) CassinoFalls–BehindtheLinesatAnzio

Begin at the PianadelleOrmeMuseumin Latina. Enjoy a bagged lunch at the picnic grounds before exploring this FANTASTIC museum with seven buildings of animated life- like‐ Italian Campaign fighting, sights and sounds that transport you to 1943- 44.‐ More than a museum, this tremendous collection tells the story of Italian life in the 20th century with a focus on the mid- century‐ upheaval of WWII.Overnight Anzio.

DAY10: Fri.,Oct.28–(B,D)Anzio–OperationShingle–Sicily- Rome‐ AmericanCemetery-‐Rome

While the beaches of Anzio are closed to the public (part of an active Italian military base), you stop at the small museum dedicated to the preservation of the history of theBattleforAnzio. On January 22, 1944, impatient with the progress of fighting to the south of the Gustav Line, the Allies launched Operation Shingle, an amphibious assault in Anzio with 40,000 men. Coming ashore, Allied forcesmet little resistance and began moving inland. By midnight, the troops had secured a beachhead 2- 3 ‐ miles deep. However, the German forces were replenished and prevented further advance by the Allies for several weeks. A change in command for the US forces changed the strategy of assault and by the end of May, the Allies had demolished the Gustav Line and could turn their sights toward Rome. While the Allied surge was successful in its objective, the operation was criticized for allowing most of the Tenth German Army to escape and continue fighting. Churchill defended the operation, stating that overall, the Italian campaign had engaged Axis troops that otherwise would have fortified the German defenses in Western Europe just before Operation Overlord.

Then pay your respects at the ABMC’sSicily-Rome‐ AmericanCemeterywhere 7, 861 of our military dead lie beneath the field of headstones. On the white marble walls of the chapel are engraved the names of 3,095 of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The map room contains a bronze relief map and four fresco maps depicting the military operations in Sicily and Italy.

En route to Rome, visit the ArdeatineCavesMassacreMemorial.Entombed in the cave on March 24, 1944, the three hundred thirty five victims of a “reprisal action” by the SS who selected their victims from prisoners, as well as individuals known or suspected of having engaged in resistance activities in Rome. In 1994, fifty years after the massacre, ABC journalist Sam Donaldson interviewed Captain Erich Priebke, one of the two SS officers who shot each victim with a single bullet to the back of the head. Priebke expressed no remorse. The case was re- opened ‐ and Priebke was extradited from safe haven in Argentina to Italy where he received a life sentence, served under house arrest, until his death in October 2013.

Evening Illumination Tour of Rome. Overnight Rome.

DAY11: Sat.,Oct.29–(B,D) Rome–AdayonYourOwnExplore Rome on your own… museums, architecture, antiquities or shopping!Farewell dinner will bring your tour to a close. Enjoy one last Limoncello! Overnight Rome.

DAY12: Sun.,Oct.30–(B) TRANSFERtoRomeFiumicinoAirport(FCO)Nonstop flight departs at 2:45 PM – arrival in JFK 7:35 PM






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Accommodations: 3 and 4 star properties with modern amenities and features.Meals: Breakfast Daily – Two Lunches - Seven Dinners - Enjoy freedom of choice for sampling dinners of the world-renown cuisine of Italy according to your own tastes and budget. Lunch stops en route between battlefields and museums.Gratuities: Included for motor-coach drivers, local guides, museum docents, porters and restaurant staff for meals and services included in the tour. Recommended for historian/guide is $5.00 - $6.00 per person per day; for Escort $3.00 - $4.00 per person per day.Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages are not included but are available.Tour Capacity: Minimum of 20 people must be registered 120 days prior to departure or tour may be cancelled. All deposits refunded or you may transfer to another tour.*Air: Roundtrip air from JFK, including inter-country flight from Rome to Palermo, Sicily, and Catania to Naples

Italian Campaign Group in CassinoRepeat travelers, John Schlegel, Steve Kadushin, Don Jenkin, Jim Mahoney

Four amigos to the top right

Travel Insurance – Highly Recommended!

Group Deluxe Travel Insurance available and based on trip cost per person. Premium refundable up to 60 days prior to departure.Optional: Deluxe “Cancel For Any Reason” Policy must be purchased within 14 days of deposit. Full 12-page policy descriptions available upon request.




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Wwii italian campaign tour

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